LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)’s stock price rose 0.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $376.11 and last traded at $373.98. Approximately 581,964 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 575,145 shares. The stock had previously closed at $372.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.9 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $344.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.83. The company has a market capitalization of $28.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LPL Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Sanchez Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Sanchez Wealth Management Group now owns 1,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.